Crossword Genius

Doctor accepting criticism with a sort of spirit (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

grappa

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'sort of spirit' is the definition.
'grappa' can be an answer for 'spirit' (I've seen this before). I am not certain of the 'sort of' bit.

'doctor accepting criticism with a' is the wordplay.
'doctor' becomes 'gp' (general practitioner).
'accepting' is an insertion indicator (inserted letters are accepted).
'criticism' becomes 'rap' (as in taking the rap for a mistake).
'with' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'gp' enclosing 'rap' is 'grapp'.
'grapp'+'a'='GRAPPA'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for grappa that I've seen before include "Brandy made from wine press residue" , "Italian brandy distilled from grape lees" , "Italian liqueur made from residue of grapes after pressing" , "Brandy from fermented pressed grape residue" , "Italian firewater" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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